Booneville, Miss. - Northeast Mississippi Community College's Brett Thompson placed himself among rare company during the final outing of his freshman football campaign.
Thompson jumped former Tiger standout Emanuel Francis for the most passing yards in the last decade by any Northeast quarterback during a 37-20 loss to Holmes Community College on Thursday at Tiger Stadium.
The 6-5, 215-pounder was 19 of 37 for 231 yards against the Bulldogs. It was the fifth 200-yard performance of the season for Thompson and the seventh game in which he threw at least one touchdown toss.
Thompson became the third Northeast signal caller since 2005 to pass for over 1,000 yards in one year. He joined Bruce Hall, who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 2008-11 with the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos, and Francis on that elite list.
He needed only 142 yards versus Holmes to leap past Francis and etch his name into the Tigers' history books. Thompson accomplished the feat just after halftime on a 41-yard connection down the home sidelines to Joe Horn, Jr.
The Olive Branch native compiled final numbers of 1,573 yards, 123 completions and 14 touchdowns through the air, which were each fourth best among quarterbacks in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC).
"It was a great night," said Thompson. "I've got to give credit to the o-line. They had great protection the whole night. The receivers were getting open and I was putting the ball where it needed to be. They made plays for me."
Thompson gave Northeast (2-7, 2-4) an early 7-0 lead in the first period on a 45-yard touchdown connection to Khalid Kornegay. The score was set up by a successful fourth-down conversion scamper by Chester Lewis one play earlier.
The Bulldogs responded with touchdown runs in their next three drives, which included a pair of scores by Aquindus Henson, to take a 20-7 advantage with 8:03 remaining until the intermission.
The Tigers used a reverse pass for the second time this season to come within one possession of retaking the lead after Brady Smith recovered a fumble that was forced by Jalen Hadley deep inside Holmes territory.
Thompson took the snap from center Martize Mitchell and then tossed it to wideout LaVontis Smith, who found Horn, Jr., wide open in the end zone. It was the team-best sixth touchdown reception of the campaign for the Atlanta, Ga., product.
"I'm actually supposed to be blocking on that play," Horn, Jr., said. "But Von and I have this thing where I'm open every single time and that's how it happened."
Holmes took a 23-14 advantage into the locker room after Cole Ballard's 30-yard field goal attempt sailed through the uprights. The Bulldogs added to their total in the third on Jamario Benson's quarterback sneak.
Northeast cut its deficit to 30-20 midway through the fourth quarter on a one-yard score by Thompson in which he worked his way through a pile of players to cross the goal line. It was the initial rushing touchdown of Thompson's career.
However, Holmes (4-5, 3-3) put the game out of reach for the Tigers at the 4:52 mark with Mitchell Cunningham's second touchdown of the evening.
"The defense created turnovers which we knew that they had to do and offensively we created some big plays," said Northeast offensive coordinator Greg Davis. "The kids kept battling and bought in. Hats off to the sophomores because those guys really did a great job."
Horn, Jr., topped the Tigers' wideouts with 70 yards on four catches. Donta Armstrong and Kornegay tied for the most receptions in the matchup with five apiece.
Northeast held the Bulldogs to zero passing yards and also accounted for two takeaways for the eighth time in nine games this season. The Tigers had four defenders that recorded 10 or more tackles as well.
South Panola High School's Smith topped the effort with career-bests of 18 total stops and 11 takedowns. Those numbers were far above his previous personal bests of seven tackles and four unassisted stops.
Jamel Dennis was solid once again in the final outing of his phenomenal days in the City of Hospitality. The Lafayette County High School alumnus had 12 takedowns and finished the year as the Tigers' top tackler with 77.
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) commit Marcus Robinson added 11 stops and the first fumble recovery of his outstanding career at Northeast. Linemen Justin Williams and Hadley combined for 19 takedowns, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks to conclude excellent freshmen campaigns as well.
Jason Carr, who transferred from the University of Tennessee, notched his first career sack to pace a Tiger defense that brought the opposing quarterback down in the backfield a season-high five times.